With One Touch [DISCONTINUED]

Chapter 9

Joseph stood outside the citadel he had been inside, the yellow grass in front of him covered in puddles, while Daren was telling some children to get out of a purple lake. "Go on, get back home!" he ordered, shooing them away with his hands, the long sleeves from his brown robe hiding the tips of his chunky fingers as he did so. He walked back over to Joseph, pulling the sleeves back up his arms and shaking his head, "sorry about that, Joseph. The human children get on my nerves so much, I can't abide their annoying laughter." He moved his hand to his mouth as Joseph looked up at him with hurtful eyes, "oh, I, er...I'm sorry - I know you're a human child too, I just don't like them."

He cleared his throat in embarrassment before presenting the lake, surrounded by trees, and had a bridge crossing it, which presented itself before them. "This is the Whispering Lake. So called because you can hear the butterflies and fairies exchanging conversation; but you have to listen very closely."

Joseph thought the man must be mad, or joking at least, "fairies?" He questioned, feeling both curious and disheartened - if this were a dream, he would surely be kicking himself when he woke up. "I thought fairies didn't exist, or that they only existed in fairytales."

Daren's head jerked backwards at his comment, he then laughed mightily and patted Joseph on the shoulder. "Oh I wish they didn't exist, young boy. They are so irritating and hover around your ears all the time; they are very annoying. Not intentionally, of course, they just don't seem to understand the words get off."

"They sound like flies," Joseph declared, receiving a confused expression from Daren.

"What was that?" Daren inquired, "What is a fly?"

"A fly is a black creature that flies around," Joseph began to explain; "it eats p- dung, throws up on food, and doesn't go away."

Daren roared in laughter, "is this another one of your silly creations?" He wiped away a tear from his brown eyes, "what a silly boy you are," he chuckled for a brief moment, and then looked behind him at three men. Each of them wore a brown cloak, black tunic, grey trousers, and long leather boots. They were raising their arms, spinning their hands and wiggling their fingers, almost as if they were enchanting something.

"How is the Water Citadel coming along?" He queried. As Joseph looked over he saw a giant, round, grey tower crumbling backwards - each stone, wooden frame and glass shard rose upwards and became part of the citadel walls.

Joseph tugged at Daren's robes, "what's going on, sir?"

"Please, call me Daren; address all of us by our first names." he retorted, and then pointed to the three men. "These men are building a Water Citadel - a home and academy for Raban Stanek and his apprentices."

Joseph was aghast, but also very confused. "Why a water citadel?" he questioned, "What does water have to do with Raban?"

Daren nodded, "Oh that's right, you're new here," he opened his mouth to speak, but stopped and smiled. "That, my dear friend, is a story for the next time you visit us." He bent over to Joseph, "so make sure you're here in time for the next lesson." He whispered, gently pushing Joseph forward.

"Now, let's continue with this tour, shall we?" He declared, "There are a lot of people who I'm sure will be most pleased to meet someone new like you."

As they crossed the flat, wooden bridge, Joseph looked into the mauve water; he saw an otter spring to the surface, shaking its head dry, then it looked at Joseph and waved. He abruptly turned his head back to face in front of him, and quickened his pace so he was closer to Daren. He looked at all the trees around them, in awe at their blue leaves and black trunks. He followed them around the lake and further West, noticing what looked like a horse shape passing through. "Is this a forest?" he asked, gazing forward again.